SGMA Assessment Questions
Initial Exploration on GSA Formation in Salinas Valley Basin
Developed by Gina Bartlett and Bennett Brooks
Consensus Building Institute
9/18/2015
Thank you for agreeing to complete this survey.
The Consensus Building Institute (www.cbuilding.org) is providing impartial facilitation and community
engagement to support the formation of a groundwater sustainability agency in the Salinas Valley Basin.
The State of California passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in fall 2014. The State has
designated the Salinas Valley Basin as a priority basin that must comply with the Act. The first major
requirements are to form a Groundwater Sustainability Agency by June 2017 and to develop a groundwater
sustainability plan by 2020. (groundwater.ca.gov) To assist the basin, the County, the City of Salinas, cities in
the basin, and agricultural stakeholders came together as a consortium to identify and select a facilitator to
work with all stakeholders in the basin. The consortium selected the Consensus Building Institute because of its
strong reputation for providing quality facilitation and its experience working on groundwater issues and
implementing the Act. CBI is conducting a stakeholder assessment, including this survey, to make
recommendations for a transparent, inclusive process and will also facilitate meetings to reach agreements on
forming a Groundwater Sustainability Agency that has widespread support among affected agencies,
organizations, and individuals.
As the first step in the process, CBI is soliciting input via interviews and surveys. The purpose of the interviews
and this survey is to provide insights about your interests and perspectives on groundwater management in the
Salinas Valley Basin. This survey is designed for individuals and organizations who rely on groundwater or
are interested in groundwater sustainability in the Salinas Valley Basin. The survey is confidential;
submitting your name is optional. Gina Bartlett and Bennett Brooks of the Consensus Building Institute will
use input from the survey and interviews to develop findings and recommendations for a process to form a
groundwater sustainability agency under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Gina and Bennett
will share the draft recommendations publicly and welcome feedback. CBI is striving to identify a broad
range of individuals and organizational representatives to share their perspectives on this survey. Please let
Gina know if you would recommend others receive the survey invitation. If you have questions or thoughts,
please feel free to contact Gina or Bennett at 415/271-0049 or gina@cbuilding.org or
bbrooks@cbuilding.org. Thank you in advance for your time and commitment to groundwater planning.
The survey is divided into the following sections:
Part 1: Demographic Information
Part 2: Forming a Groundwater Sustainability Agency
Part 3: Decision Making
Part 4: Stakeholder Engagement
[Please bold or type in your answers]
1. Where do you live?
2. Do you live in the Salinas Valley Basin?
Yes / no / I’m not sure
3. Do you work in the Salinas Valley Basin?
Yes / no / I'm not sure / Other:
4. What is the source of your water supply at home?
Private residential well
Water provider (please list):
5. How do you rely on groundwater? (please provide a brief response)
As an individual:
As a business:
As an agency:
6. How are you/have you been involved in groundwater issues or groundwater planning?
7. What stakeholder interest group do you most closely identify with?
Agriculture
Business
County government
City government
Disadvantaged community resident or representative
Domestic well owner
Environmental interest
Federal government
Local resident
Tribes
Water agency/district board member or employee
Other (please specify):
GSA Formation
The first major requirement under Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is to form
Groundwater Sustainability Agencies GSA(s) by June 2017 for medium and high priority basins. The
State has designated Salinas Valley Basin as a priority basin that must comply with SGMA.
What are your primary concerns or interests related to SGMA and GSA formation? Why are these
important?
How would you foresee GSA formation moving forward in your basin? What would you recommend?
What specific qualities or requirements would you envision for a potential GSA? (financial, technical
capacity, etc.)
What configurations or options for a GSA would you envision? How would you organize the
governance structure?
What special considerations, if any, related to basin boundaries (as outlined in Bulletin 118) should
we know about? How might these considerations affect GSA formation, outreach, etc.?
Decision Making and Criteria
Who should be involved in deciding on the GSA formation? Why?
How should they decide?
What interest, if any, does your entity have in serving as a GSA? (please list agency if interested)
What agency might you recommend or envision as serving as the GSA(s) or what agencies might
come together to serve as a GSA? Why?
What kinds of information might be needed to support decision-making on GSA formation?
Stakeholder Engagement
The intent of stakeholder engagement is to commit to a transparent and inclusive process for
formation of the groundwater sustainability agency. Your input in this section will help CBI think about
the best ways to structure engagement.
What recommendations do you have to ensure affected stakeholder communities are aware of and
providing informed input in to the groundwater sustainability agency formation process?
If a stakeholder group comes together to work on GSA formation, who would you recommend be
involved?
What are the best methods to keep you and your organization abreast of new
developments related to forming the GSA and implementing SGMA?
What kinds of outreach / engagement /activities would you recommend to engage stakeholders?
Email-periodic updates
Public meetings
Informational briefings at existing organizations
Articles in the media
One-on-one meetings
Mailers
Signs at strategic locations
Web site
Other thoughts? Other kinds of engagement?
Conclusion
What else might you suggest or insights would you like to offer?
Your Name and/or Organization (optional)
If you would like to share your name, Senior Mediators Gina Bartlett and Bennett Brooks of the
Consensus Building Institute are the only people who will see it. They will be sharing the findings of
these interviews without attributing insights to any individual. You are welcome to share your name at
your own discretion.
Thank you for your commitment and time.